This invention relates to the improvement of an agricultural round baler. More specifically it relates to an improvement for the attachment and removal of windguard tines on a windguard assembly.
Agricultural round balers have been used for several decades to collect and bind crop material so as to facilitate the storage of crop material for later use. Generally, a mower or mower-conditioner cuts the crop and arranges it in a windrow for drying. A general example of a disc mower-conditioner is the New Holland Discbine(copyright) disc mower conditioner model 1431 manufactured by New Holland North America, Inc. Later, an agricultural tractor pulls a baler over the windrow to collect the crop material. The baler""s windrow pickup gathers the cut and windrowed crop and lifts it into the baling chamber. The baling chamber consists of a pair of opposing sidewalls with a series of belts that rotate and compress the crop material into a cylindrically shaped bale. When the bale has achieved a desired size and density, the operator wraps the bale to ensure that the cylindrical and compact nature of the bale is maintained. There are many wrapping materials and methods of wrapping the bale depending on a variety of factors. Initially, twine was used to wrap the bale. Later netwrap and silage sheets were introduced. After the bale is bound or wrapped, the farmer ejects it from the baler for later pickup.
As previously mentioned, there are a variety of agricultural round balers. A general example of this device is illustrated by the New Holland Roll-Belt(trademark) Round Baler model number 678 manufactured by New Holland North America, Inc. Generally, round balers are pulled by an agricultural tractor and receive rotational power from the tractor""s power-take-off shaft positioned at the rear of the tractor. The energy is transmitted to a gearbox positioned on the baler. Some balers also use a hydraulic motor and pump arrangement to provide energy to the various baler elements such as the various rollers and belts. As previously discussed, located near the front of the baler is the windrow pickup. This assembly picks up the windrow and feeds it into the baling chamber. Positioned above the windrow pickup is the windguard assembly. It ensures that the crop material is properly feed into the baling chamber in spite of any wind or varying crop conditions. Typically, the windguard assembly consists of a pipe and a series of windguard tines held in position above and in front of the pickup. The pipe may be raised or lowered by adjusting a chain and a tine adjustment mechanism. Affixed to the pipe are a series of windguard tines. These tines frequently break off or are damaged during the life of the baler. The windguard tines are typically wrapped, welded or bolted onto the pipe making replacement difficult. The prior art shows a variety of means to attach the windguard tines to the pipe, however these methods have not been entirely successful.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,565,057, 4,524,576 and 4,463,546 disclose conventional methods for attaching a tine to a pipe. U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,057 illustrates a pair of tines wrapped about the pipe. U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,576 illustrates some tines inserted through the pipe and other tines bolted on the pipe. U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,546 illustrates tines that are bolted to a surface or pipe. It is difficult to remove the remaining portion of the tine. Furthermore it is difficult to easily replace such tines without proper tools or welding devices. U.S. Pat. No. 2,603,936 discloses a snap lock pickup finger for harvester reels. In this approach, a portion of the tine is inserted into a circular member that is integral to the tine. However, with this approach, it is difficult to make a tine with a sufficient material cross section capable of being bent and surviving the rigors of a harvesting environment. A tine of this design would have to have a fairly thin cross section that would limit its ability to retain its shape or survive during the relatively harsh baling processes.
Consequently, the need exists for an improved windguard tine that can be easily removed for servicing or replacement with a minimum of tools.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a windguard tine that is easy to replace.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a windguard tine that can be attached to the windguard pipe on a conventional round baler""s windguard assembly without tools.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a windguard tine that is affixed to a windguard assembly without bolts, wrapping or welding.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a windguard tine that may be easily removed for repair or servicing.
The invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art. The invention is an improvement to the windguard tines on an agricultural round baler. The device consists of a windguard pipe having tine apertures therein. The first tine portion and second tine portion of a windguard tine are inserted in the tine apertures. Connecting the first and second tine portions is the support region of the windguard tine. A removable clip having a tine catch and pipe release binds the support region of the windguard tine to the windguard pipe. The use of the clip with a pipe release allows the windguard tine to be easily removed without tools for either repair or replacement of the tine.